Groove Tube: Sixties Television and the Youth Rebellion

Author: Aniko Bodroghkozy

Publication date: 2001

Duke University Press

"In the 1960s, a handful of primetime television series tried to present the reality of youth culture and rebellion to America via the small screen. This attempt generated controversy, and the resulting media uproar sparked a significant change in the nature of TV entertainment. Did specific Sixties programming promote contentiousness among American youth? Bodroghkozy (film and media studies, Univ. of Alberta) investigates this question, focusing on two particularly socially relevant Sixties TV series, The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour and The Mod Squad. The author, who had input from the Smothers Brothers in her discussion of their CBS TV series and its controversial cancellation, includes several photos from their archives. She also offers a noteworthy chronology of social and media events that characterize the era covered in the book (1966-71)."